Saying Goodbye

Saying goodbye is never fun, especially when it is to someone who you didn't expect to loose, someone you knew would always be there. My Uncle Don was always there. Ever since I was little, Uncle Don and Aunt Karen lived in the same town, went to the same church and was always there for every holiday or Sunday lunch.

Ever since I was little, Uncle Don was always there to give me a hug and say, "hey there, Kyla". I remember my mom saying to me when I was in junior high that she thought that Uncle Don gave me more hugs than my dad! One of my favorite memories is when I was at the movies in fifth grade. It was summer time and my friend Jolana (I think it was her!) went to see a matinee. We had just forgoten to make sure we had a ride home. After not reaching either of our parents, I knew right who to call....333-5394 and there he was to save the day!

At the funeral, it was amazing how everyone said the same wonderful things about him..."he never had a bad thing to say, a wonderful Christian man, loved to play golf, a great baseball player, amazing craftsman, and a true family man."

Here is one of my favorite pictures of MY uncle Don Though it was taken YEARS ago, I always loved how my uncle don looked like the Cowboys' coach!!!

His funeral was just what it should be. It was a wonderful tribute to an amazing man, as well as, a time for us Christians to praise and thank God for the amazing gift of eternal ife. I will never forget the overwhelming feeling of the presence of the holy pirit as we sang "Because He Lives." But, the most precious part was hearing my aunt Karen, his best friend of 50 years, singing her heart out. Her strength can only be understood by the faith she has in her savior. I continue to pray for her as she goes through her everyday and nights without her best friend by her side.

Though we hated the reason, I was able to see my family and get some pictures of cousins I don't get to see often.

Here is my aunt Karen holding my cousin Beth's little girl Kylie.and here are the three sisters. Karen, Kendall (my momma) and Janene.And though they will shoot me for posting this, this is my favorite shot! It just is more "them"!

Here are Janene, her daughter Beth and Beth's two kiddos Kylie and Wyatt.

My adorable cousins, Becca (who is a senior!!!!!!!) and A.J. the 5th grader!

The beautiful Tamny family.....Amanda, T.J. and Alan

My beautiful sis and Amanda

Becca, Amanda, Devin and Kylie

And I hate that Kara Dawn and Joel never made it in my camera!

Thanks for letting me share my trip and my memeories.

First day of First Grade

Really, first grade! I thought you may be thinking surely she is going into at least 4th grade with the high tops, peace sign top and sequin hat, but no, Chloe is in first grade! Thanks to a shopping trip to Justice with Darlin', my Diva is set for a high fashion year!

What is in a furtune cookie?

Last Sunday, we went to Ming's with a secret, that obviously needed to be let out.....

Yes, it is true. We are almost 7 weeks pregnant. This will probably come to a shock to most of you seeing that Chris and I said we were finished with our family of four. But in the spring, both of us felt that maybe God was saying that HE might not be done with our family. Obviously He wasn't. The thought of a third melted our hearts.

I am sure everyone realizes that the timing of this is very....humorous. Financially this is one of the hardest times we've had. Me starting school sick as a dog 24hours a day is definately going to be a challenge, and oh, we gave away all of baby things!

But, I am reminded that God is amazing. Even though things look impossible, I am still so excited about this new life inside of me. What if it is a boy! A little hunter for Chris. What if it is another little precious girl that will steal my heart away like her sisters have. I think we could have the Jonas sisters in the making! You can see the girls are exstatic.

So, I tell everyone on the blog so that if you want to say, "What are you thinking?" you can't! Only positive exciting comments can be left on the blog!!!!! And if you want to dig out all that baby stuff you've saved in the attic and never knew why, you can! But, as you see Chloe has it pretty well planned out, so who's concerned?

REJOICE!

To many of you these look like tools that you probably do not use everyday, but for the Carpenter house these WERE everyday aides for our washer and dryer!!! Yes, to wash the clothes you need the flathead screwdriver to close the lid and to dry the clothes you need the pliers to get the knob to turn to set the dryer!

But, no more my friends! Tonight, my husband set up a new washer and dryer (only 8 years old) that I will not be needing to run to the tool box everytime I wash a load!!

THAT IS A PRAISE IF I EVER SAW ONE!!!!

Best Friend of the Year Award

Here are the top ten reasons why this wonderful person recieves the BEST FRIEND OF THE YEAR AWARD:

10. She is my BLOG mentor

9. She makes me laugh so hard I sometimes think I may pee a little!

8. We have a pack to brag on our husbands (instead of grip- it isn't always easy!)

7. She compliments me on how well I pack a dishwasher (something Chris says I am terrible at)

6. She lets her kids watch Spongebob too

5. In a meeting, she let everyone know I was too busy to take on another responsibility

4. I know that she prays for me and my family when we need it the most

3. She was the only other person allowed to be in the room when Cami was delivered besides Chris and the doctor (and then my mom last minute)

2. She invited me into the most fun Bunco group over 6 years ago and let me back in last year after I bailed on them 3 years ago.

1. SHE WASHED, DRIED, FOLDED AND PACKAGED 4 LOADS OF MY LAUNDRY WITHIN 18 HOURS!(my washer is broken)

So who is this beautiful, talented, Christian woman?????

TONYA LEE DODD!!!!

A year later

Well last July I posted my first post on my first blog. Didn't know it would last, but it did. Okay, so who knows where to get these things made into a book?

Anyways, a funny thing is that one of my first posts was when we "the family" went to the Vinyard. You can scroll down to August for a recap if ya want.

But this year we went to celebrate Keith's birthday. We had a great night of celebrating not only his birth but the birth of our newest family member...Kaiyin. Yes, our friends Steve and Elmira got the call and hopefully in a few weeks will get to go see their sweet baby girl!!!!!

Here are a few pics of the night:

Happy b day Keith!

A picture like last year...without T, but adding Ivey, Roza and Elmira!

Sweet friends

And goofy ones!

A little bit of dancing

But, a lot of love!

Anybody miss me?

Okay, so you don't have to answer that...it is just that we went to Oklahoma for a week and i haven't gotten to blog like I want to.

Bartlesville is where I was born and raised. When I was growing up there it was "so uncool" and everyone was ready for bigger and better things. But, it is funny how my friends are starting to move back and how people our age love raising their family in the small yet busy town.

We Carpenters, on the other hand, see it as vacation! Where else do you get to swim everyday, get your first mani and pedi (thanks to aunt Kendra) and go to KIDDIE PARK!!!!!

Here is a photo journal of our week in Bartlesville. You will see many smiles from Chloe, Cami, Aunt Kendra, Devin, Paw Paw, Grammie, Chris and I!!!

Happiness at the pool




Chloe's first trip to the spa!!!!!
KIDDIE PARK!!!

Riding the train

And now it is back to the real world....where I can't wear my p.j.s until late afternoon and where I have to answer the phone and worry about bills. Thanks Mom and Dad for treating us so well while we were with you and thanks Sis for spoiling me and my little Gaudy Girl! I love you!!!!!